Ulead Systems has entered the immersive imaging category
of the Internet product market with Ulead COOL 360, a tool for creating
panoramas from any digitized sequence of photos.
At $39.95, the new product has extensive features for creating panoramas for print or the World Wide Web. Among COOL 360’s features is the New Project Wizard, which lets users
define the type of panorama–wide-angle or full 360 degrees–and then
guides them through the process of acquiring the images from a
TWAIN-compliant scanner or digital camera. It has pre-defined settings for
nearly all digital cameras and can optimize the results from each of them.
COOL 360 has a powerful algorithm for automatic stitching and intelligent
blending and warping of the photos. With both manual and automatic tools, it
allows perspective, hue, saturation, brightness or contrast between sets of
photographs to be adjusted. Output options include pasting to documents and
presentations, or delivery via e-mail, HTML, or as standalone .exe files.
“For 10 years now, Ulead Systems has been known as a developer of easy, affordable software
products that allow PC users to reach their creative potential,” said Liming Chen, president of Ulead Systems. “Ulead is proud
to continue this tradition by moving into the exciting realm of immersive
imaging. COOL 360 is another expression of our commitment to provide
digital photographers with leading technologies.”
To view an HTML-based panorama on the Web, the user needs to download
a Ulead Panorama Viewer plug-in.